Curative apparatus.



v No. 773,828. PATBNTED NOV. 1, 1904.

. J. A; W. TITUS. A

GUBATIVE APPARATUS.

7 APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

Fiy. 1

WITNESSES: INVENTORS I ATTORNEY lUNiTEp STATES Patented November 1,1904.

ATENT Trice.

JOHN TITUS, OF OYSTER BAY, AND WILLIAM TITUS, OF OLD EST- BURY, NEWYORK.

CURATIVE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 773,828, dated November1, 1904.

Application filed August 20, 1902. Serial No. 120,296- (No model.)

To (all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, J OHN TrrUs, a resident of Oyster Bay, and WVILLIAuTI'rUs, a resident of Old VVestbury, in the township of North Hempstead,in the county of Nassau and State of New York, citizens of the UnitedStates, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in OurativeApparatus; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings,mak ing a part of this specification, in whichFigure l is a plan view and partial section of an apparatus madeaccording to our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalView thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken inthe line a; w of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, on a largerscale, still further illustrating the construction of said apparatus.The object of this invention is to provide improved means for subjectinginvalids or others to the curative 0r hygienic action of thermalagencies derived from water of preferred temperatures ranging betweenwide extremes of heat and cold without bringing the person into actualcontact with the liquid.

It composes certain new and useful combinations of parts whereby weprovide, for the purposes indicated, an efficient andconveniently-manipulated apparatus adapted to a wide range of uses inthe sick-room, the hospital, or the Sanitarium.

A is a tank made preferably of sheet metal and with a horizontal flangea at its upper edge. This tank is designed to contain circulating waterof any desired temperature. It has a suitable inlet 7/ and outlet 0..Then the inlet and outlet are adjacent to each other, as in Fig. 2, ahorizontal partition (Z is extended back nearly to the opposite end ofthe tank to provide a circuitous passage for the water, as indicated bythe arrows in said figure. The inlet Z) may be connected in anyappropriate manner with any suitable source ofwatersupply, and the waterfrom the outlet 0 may be led away to any suitable receptacle. Therapidity of the circulation will depend upon the energy with which thewater is supplied to the tank and upon the extent to which its flow isthrottled at the inlet or the outlet, one or both. This throttling maybe controlled by a cook or cocks e, placed on either the inlet or theoutlet, or both. As shown'in the drawings, the water-supply is drawnfrom a boiler 0 through a pipe 9, and the outflow from the tank isreturned to the boiler through a pipe f. This is for use when theapparatus is to be used with heated water. When it is to be used withcold water, the source of supply is of course to be changed to oneproviding water of the requisite low temperature.

D is what, for convenience, we term a mattress-sheet, which is securelyattached at its circumference to the flange a of the tank and whichshould be of such strength and character that it will support the weightof a person placed upon it without substantial support from the volumeof water in the tank below. This sheet may be of any suitable material;but where the question of expense is not necessarily regarded it ispreferably of india-rubber, which may not only be readily given theconfiguration just hereinafter described, but being more or less elasticmore readily conforms to the person lying thereon when the apparatus isin use. This sheet has in its upper side a depression h, which in sizeand shape conforms to the posterior portions of the human body andlimbs, so that a person lying in said depression b will have the back, aportion of the sides, and portions of the limbs sunken below the generalsurface of the sheet and brought into much closer relation or contacttherewith than is possible with a person lying upon a flat or onlyslightly depressed surface. By this means the action of the temperatureof the liquid in the tank and in contact with the under side of themattresssheet is caused to act more effectively upon the personlyingupon said sheet than would otherwise be practicable.

Provided at one or both, preferably both, lateral portions of themattress-sheet D are what, for convenience of designation, we termwater-blankets E. When each side or lateral portion of the apparatus isprovided with one of these water-blankets, the two, folding inward overthe mattress-sheet, may overlap at their inner edges 'to cover orenvelop the person lying upon the sheet, as indicated in Fig. 3. TV henonly one such blanket is used, it should be of a width suflicient toextend entirely across the mattress-sheet, with a margin sufficient topermit it to be tucked snugly around the person on the sheet. Each ofthese water-blankets is composed of flexible waterproof material, ishollow, and is constructed for the, circulation of water therethrough.As shown in the drawings, the water is passed into each from the tankthrough a pipe '2', which may be furnished with a regulating-cock is,the exhaust-water passing from an outlet to and through a pipe m, whichultimately connects with the boiler C. Of course when the blankets areto be used for refrigerative purposes the boiler or source of hotwatersupply is replaced by a source of coldwater supply, which may be of anysuitable kind.

In the use and operation of the apparatus water of the desiredtemperature is supplied to the tank until it rises into contact with theunder side of the mattress-sheet and also rises into the water-blanketsuntil the latter are practically full. The patient or person fortreatment lies in the cavity h of the mattress-sheet D and the flexiblewater-blankets are folded and tucked about him in as close contact withthe person as may be, thereby subjecting him to the intended temperaturein other words, to the desired degree of heat or cold, as the case maybetransmitted through the mattress-sheet from the water in the tankbelow and through the inner walls of the water-blankets from the waterwithin the latter, and this without bringing the person into actualcontact with water and with practically perfect control of thetemperature employed.

The water-blankets may be of any suitable material and construction solong as the same are adapted for use in the manner herein previously setforth. As shown in the drawings, however,each blanket is made offlexible sheetrubber or like waterproof material folded upon itself, asmore clearly shown at '7' in the left-hand portion of Fig. 1, also inFig. 3, with its edges closely confined at the lateral edges of themattress-sheet, the two opposing parts of the material in each sheetbeing stayed one to another by stitches or fastening devices s, whichkeep them when distended with water at a more or less uniformdistance-say from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch, more or lessfrom each other, so that the blanket when filled with water is a thicksheet-like flexible "body which may be readily wrapped over or upon theperson lying upon the mat tress-sheet.

Our preferred means of securing the edges of the mattress-sheet andthose of the material which comprises the sides or walls of thewaterblankets is illustrated in Fig. 4. In this the edges of themattress-sheet D are, as hereinbefore explained, laid upon the flange aof the tank. The two edges of the folded sheet material of the adjacentwater-blanket E are laid one upon the other and both upon the edgeportions aforesaid of the mattress-sheet. A stiff metal frame F ofcorresponding configuration is then placed upon the superposed edgeportions just described of the mattress-sheet and water-blanket throughsuitable holes and is firmly screwed by rivets or nuts a to the flange abelow. The edges of the blanket material and of the mattress materialare thus firmly and tightly clamped between the frame and the flangewith joints sufiiciently tight to prevent leakage of watertherethrough.

What we claim as our invention is 1. The combination with a tank of amattresssheet over the top thereof, and a flexible waterblanket, ofmeans for providing a circulation of water through the tank in contactwith the under side of the mattress-sheet, and means for providing acirculation of water through the waterblanket, as described.

2. The combination with a tank and a mattress-sheet over the topthereof, of flexible water-blankets attached at their outer edges alongthe edges of the mattresssheet and arranged to fold inward over themattress-sheet, of means for providing a circulation of water within thetank and in contact with the under side of the mattress-sheet and a flowof Wate '"v-"- from the tank to and through the water-sheets, asdescribed.

8. The combination with a tank having a circumferential flange at itstop, a mattresssheet over said top with its edge portions upon saidflange, a water-blanket composed of flexible sheet material, the edgesof which are laid one upon the other and both upon the edges of themattress-sheet, a frame which in shape and size corresponds to theflange of the tank, and bolts or rivets which connect the frame with theflange to grip the edges of the waterblanket and of the mattress-sheetbetween them to form water-tight joints, as described.

a. The combination with a tank'and a mattress-sheet over the topthereof, of a flexible water-blanket comprising in its structure wallsof waterproof material stayed internally to retain said walls in therequisite relation with each other when the blanket is distended, and

means for providing a circulation of water when the latter is foldedinward over the said through the blanket, as described.

5. The combination with a tank, a mattresssheet over the top of the tankand a flexible water-blanket, of means for providing a circulation ofwater simultaneously through the tank in contact with the under side ofthe mattress-sheet and through the water-blanket sheet, as described.

JOHN TITUS. WILLIAM TITUS.

Witnesses:

JAMEs A. WHITNEY, AMAZIAH lVHITNEY.

